For many years it has been common practice to form splints from Plaster of Paris for use in maintaining immobility of bony segments after surgery. They are difficult to make and difficult to retain in place, requiring excessive taping or bandaging, in addition to being uncomfortable and unsightly. Various other approaches have been tried with indifferent success.
One approach has been the molding of a complete face mask, the nose portion of which is then modified to the desired contour. One or more blanks of sheet material are then formed to fit the contour and secured to a restraining member. The device is placed over the nose and an elastic band connected to the ends of the restraining member is passed around the back of the head to hold the splint in place. An example of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,742,943 to Malmin. Obviously the method is expensive and time consuming and the splint is easily displaced from its intended position.
In a somewhat similar approach a piece of malleable sheet metal of about the same area as the nose is laid against the nose and then pressed inward to assume the same shape as the nose. A retainer similar to a pair of goggles is applied to the splint and a headband connected to the ends of the retainer tends to hold it in place. An example of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,848 to Berner. While the method of manufacture is simpler and cheaper than that of Malmin, it suffers from the same disadvantages in use. The device is uncomfortable and unsightly and the splint itself is easily displaced especially when the wearer is sleeping. Since neither of these devices is directly secured to the nose, they both fail to maintain constant pressure on precise areas to prevent swelling or distortion.